A Night On the Town
by Arist
Summary: This was a story submitted to my local school literary magazine, featuring characters from a series I will hopefully have finished within the next year


"Roxies" flashed across the neon billboard above the building, advertising it's name for all to see. A loud heavy techno beat pounded from within, out into the street beyond. Street kids milled around it, smoking, drinking, and talking it up. In front of it all was a bouncer, but that was about it for actual visible protection into and out of the club.  
  
L.b. smiled from across the street, on top of a nearby building. "Looks easy enough." She took a sip from her thermos. "I mean, only a bouncer? With what we know is in there?" The radio crackled as she lowered the thermos in one hand and a pair of binoculars up in the other.  
  
"Uh huh, which is why we're being careful about this. 'Flashy is obvious' as Silk used to say to me," came Kimi's voice over it. She was down in the crowd itself, waiting to get in. She turned to look up at where she knew L.b. was hiding out.  
  
L.b. giggled. "Talk about flashy, speak for yourself hot stuff. Yum!" Kim blushed; she was out of her element tonight. A low cut dress showed off her cleavage (which she was kinda shy about, having never been particularly proud of them) and a slit up the side showed off long, thin legs clad in heels. With her hair done up and masses of jewelry on her, she was the equivalent of a walking "Screw Me" sign. "Remind me to ask to see you like that some night!" L.b. giggled again.  
  
"Stop it. You should be the one down here dressed like a tramp, not me." She shook her head and shivered a little. "It's damned cold down hwere, and I'm better at sneaking around."  
  
"You lost the straws Kim. Just worry about being the backup plan." She sipped some more from her thermos and set it down again, "and show some more leg! Woohoo!"  
  
Kim smiled devilishly and lifted the hem of the skirt a little. "Satisfied?" A low whistle from the other radio answered her question. She grinned and reached towards her ear. "I'm going in. Signal me if you need help." She plucked the earpiece out and put it in her pocketbook. She smiled flirtingly at the bouncer, who efficiently patted her down and let her into the club. With one last look up, she submerged deeply into the crowd inside.  
  
"Time to fly then." L.b. took the mike set off and put it into the fetish bag set down near her, and began to stretch out. She slid the bag around her waist and took off the jacket; breathed deeply, and ran straight at the edge of the building, leaping off at the last moment, and slid into the cool, sleek raven form. She cawed loudly and flew towards the dance club.  
  
They'd spotted the cracked window earlier, scouting out the area. They'd decided it was the best entry way in and out. She silently flew in between the shattered panes of glass and landed quietly, shifting back into homid, checking her equipment. She looked around, figuring that it was safe and crept down the hallway towards her goal.  
  
*** The techno stuff was too damned loud for Kimi's taste; she hated poppy trash. Give her something with a more downbeat vibe to it, something softer and gentler. She yawned, glanced around the building, and waited for something to happen.  
  
*** L.b. had made it. The security had been relatively tight, but it wasn't like it had been impossible. They probably relied on the club more than they did the guards, but she did sense that there were more to them then they let on. She slid her laptop out of the bag and hooked it up to the terminal in front of her, tapping on the keys quickly.  
  
A loud noise out in the hallway startled her and shook her attention away from what she'd been doing. "Great. Now what?" She pushed a button on the laptop, slipped in back into the bag, and shifted into corvid once more. She sighed and hopped up into the rafters of the room, waiting to see what was up.  
  
*** Kim yawned again and shook the cup of ice in her hand, smiling bored-like at the guys trying to be discreet about checking her out. She glanced at the clock on the wall; L.b. should have most of what she needed by now, and was probably getting ready to leave. She tapped her delicate fingers against her arms, impatient. That's when she felt the gentle buzzing in her purse, the warning beeper she'd insisted L.b. take with her. It meant that something was going on upstairs.  
  
She smiled at the bartender again and slid off of the char, putting the buzzer back into her purse and removing what looked like a plastic katana out in it's stead. She walked out the front door.  
  
*** "Great."  
  
The loud noise in the hall was a group of punks storming the place. The last guard that had stood in their way had been thrown bodily into the room, breaking his neck against the side of a table. Blood pooled around his empty skull.  
  
"Nice arm there Burke! Good job!" One of the five walking in crowed, patting a big one on the back. He grunted. "My little league days." They all laughed and walked all the way into the room, towards the armored vault in the back. They chatted while one worked his way around the locks.  
  
L.b. was stuck. She couldn't fly out of here; she needed what was in that computer. But there were these dumbasses in the way, trying to get something completely different than she was. Plus, they looked like they were going to trash what she needed! There was a cough out in the hallway. "I can't believe it. I get called in here to stop some petty robbers?" Kimi walked into light of the room and shook her head. "This isn't even worth the time."  
  
"You lost sweetie?" One of them asked, a small light looking kid with lots of tattoos and piercings. "Pretty little girls should know when to keep their pretty little noses out of other peoples business."  
  
Kimi's eyes narrowed. No one had ever called her a "pretty little girl" and had gotten away with it. "Where's my friend?" L.b. could see Kim's mother's sword reflecting in the light. This was getting better and better. She mentally sighed and resigned herself to her fate.  
  
"What the hell are you threatening us with? Gonna snap our necks with those dainty little.urk!" His neck snapped as wrapped hands were put around it. "Didn't your daddy ever teach you to speak proper around ladies?" L.b. said, brushing her hands over the now dead body.  
  
"Oi! She just killed Surge!" Yelled another one.  
  
"Wow, figured that all out on your own? I'm impressed!" She dodged to the side as one charged her with his fists clenched and tripped him as he went by, breaking his leg as he went down. Kim ducked and sidestepped another charger, hitting him in the back of the knees with a slash and finishing him off with a quick back strike to his neck. His head rolled onto the floor wetly, it's eyes staring blankly.  
  
The remaining few grimaced, readied to charge and attack. Burke had ripped the vault door off in anger and was clutching the bags of money to his chest. "Screw 'em! Let's get out of here!" He punched a hole in the floor of the room and jumped down. The rest followed him, the last flipping them both the bird as he went down.  
  
L.b. had pulled her laptop back out of the bag and had hooked it back up. "Go Kim, I know you want to. I'll finish this up and I'll meet up with you down there." Kimi brushed a strand of loose hair out of her face as she finished off the one with the broken leg. "Okay." She straightened herself up and jumped down the hole towards the sound of gunfire and screaming.  
  
*** They met her further into the club. One was using a table leg as a huge club and was charging her with it, swinging it in the air as he charged her. He was good; she'd give him that. The way he handled the heavy piece positively screamed it. He swung hard and hit her side, throwing her into a nearby table and scaring the couple sitting at it out of their chairs. She scowled and reversed her blade, holding the sharp edge away from him.  
  
That's when the other hit her from behind with a chair, stunning her. "Bitch is gonna die!" He sang as he hit her again and again with it. The other came over and was laughing, grabbing her by her legs and throwing her into another table. Kim could do nothing; she was in too much pain by this point to even try to put up a defense to it.  
  
*** L.b. chewed on her lip as she watched the last of the file slowly, inchworms like, downloading itself onto her laptop. She'd been tapping her fingers madly, unconsciously hoping that it would help make the file go quicker. "Come on, come on." She'd apparently also been tapping her foot against it too.  
  
With a short little ding, the download was complete. "Yes!" She popped the connection and slid the light little computer into her fetish bag once more. "Time to go help Kimi."  
  
*** "Not so tough now, are you?" Burke had leaned down to face her, bloodied and bruised. "Where's your tough words now?" He laughed and threw her against another wall. "Let's just see how much fun you can be." He stopped laughing when a fist smacked him in the face.  
  
"Leave her alone." L.b. stood there, the dead bodies of his two remaining cohorts lying broken across two tables. She stood in the ready position that Kim had taught her, soft fire in her eyes. Kim sighed thankfully and closed her eyes, murmuring something in Japanese.  
  
"Why do you care? She's just a broken bitch. You let me go,"  
  
"Not gonna happen after what you did to my sister." She charged him again, but changed her tactic, jumping into the air and plunging two razor-sharp feathers into his eyes. He screamed in pain; she fell to the ground and kicked upwards, into his groin. He moaned and fell back to the ground, his back slamming against the heavy concrete of the dance floor, dust kicking up around him.  
  
He was back up in moments, the feathers still stuck in his eyes. "I'll rip you in two!" He rushed towards her and grabbed her quite hard, squishing her, pressing her against him. She screamed in pain as she felt her light bones cracking under the pressure. "Grrr..AHHH!" She kicked him in the chest hard and punched both of her fists down on his neck. He screamed and threw her against the ground, hitting it hard.  
  
She rolled to the side, kicked out, striking him in the ankle, bringing him down once more. She tackled him, punching him as hard as she could in the face, until she was sure he was either dead or just very unconscious. She rolled off of him wearily and hit the ground, groaning and breathing hard. She went over to Kim, lying there smirking, and pulled her to her feet. The two looked around the destroyed dance hall, blood, gunshots, and bodies scattered everywhere.  
  
"So. Got plans for tomorrow night sexy?" L.b. asked with a grin. 


End file.
